1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a versatile label and/or envelope assembly. The invention is also directed to a coating for a label, and a method of coating a label, which renders treated surfaces of the label printable. The invention is also directed to a tearable line for a label and/or an envelope assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Labels typically have text, or a design, or some type of printed matter on a face sheet. However, certain face sheet materials, such as films and foils, cannot be printed on due to the xe2x80x9cunprintablexe2x80x9d surface properties of these materials. A protective panel is typically adhered to the face sheet with an adhesive coating, and disposed of as waste once it is separated from the face sheet. The protective panel typically has a smooth surface which is usually unprintable. Furthermore, when a single label is removed from a sheet of labels, a plain, smooth surface of the protective panel to which the single label was adhered is exposed and often discarded as waste, for one reason because nothing can typically be printed on the smooth surface.
When separating a label from a remainder portion of a label sheet, die-cut lines can be too flimsy, thereby allowing the label to separate from the remainder portion before a user desires such separation. Conversely, micro-perforations can be too durable, thereby creating difficulty for a user who attempts to separate a label from a remainder portion, the process of which often results in a torn label.
Envelopes can be used to hold a wide variety of items, including letters, documents, compact discs, DVDs, pictures, baseball cards, and the like. Quite often, it is desirable to have a label for adhering to items within an envelope. In order to label items and store them in envelopes, one must purchase the envelopes and the labels separately. Furthermore, an outside surface of the envelope usually must be labeled to indicate what the contents are inside the envelope.
An envelope having a window is one way to reveal the contents of an envelope, but labels must still be purchased separately in order to label the contents themselves. If the labels and the envelopes are separate items, they cannot be run through a printer simultaneously. Furthermore, if an envelope has a window, the window often occupies a considerable amount of printable surface area on the envelope.
In addition, labels affixed to objects, such as compact discs (CDs), with adhesive can harm the discs if a user attempts to remove the labels. More specifically, damage may be caused by pulling off some of the disc protective coating, metal and dye along with the label. A somewhat contradictory reason to oppose the use of labels with adhesives on CDs is that some adhesives can dry out and become less effective over time, especially in the presence of heat, thus the labels could arguably become unattached while being used in a CD drive. Furthermore, ink printed on a thin label is subject to bleeding through the label and onto the CD, which could easily damage the protective coating on the read/write portion of the CD. However, discs with no labels at all are subject to scratching of the protective coating, metal and dye, which can cause irreversible damage.
A further setback in envelope organization is difficulty in distinguishing one envelope from another. When envelopes are aligned in a row, they typically all look alike. Even when a surface of an envelope is labeled, one must usually sort through a number of envelopes, looking at an entire surface of each one, before finding the sought-after envelope.
Envelope assemblies produced as a continuous web during the manufacturing process can be difficult to produce due to the precision required in separating adjacent assemblies from one another. If a cutting device used to separate adjacent assemblies from one another is even slightly misaligned, a large number of misshapen, nonfunctional assemblies can result from the misalignment.
When assembling an envelope from an envelope assembly, a protective panel is often difficult to separate from a face sheet. Not only does this difficulty lead to frustration, but it can also result in worn edges of the face sheet. Furthermore, once the protective panel is separated from the face sheet, it is often difficult to evenly fold one element of the assembly onto another element of the assembly, thereby resulting in a lopsided, uneven envelope.
Accordingly, a need exists for a new and improved envelope, or envelope assembly, that provides means for labeling the envelope and any contents within the envelope. A need also exists for an envelope that can be more easily identified and organized. A further need exists for an envelope assembly that can be easily manufactured and assembled to form an envelope having a finished appearance.
Furthermore, a need exists for a way to print on typically unprintable label surfaces. A need also exists for an envelope or envelope assembly having a window without a loss of printable surface area. A further need exists for an improved way to separate labels from remainder portions.
The present invention relates to a label, or an envelope assembly, or an envelope. The label, or envelope assembly, or envelope, has a coating that renders coated surface areas printable. More particularly, even extremely smooth surfaces, such as protective panels, can be printed upon when coated with the coating of the present invention.
The present invention also relates to a tearable line that can be used to separate a label or an envelope assembly from a remainder portion, or from an adjacent label or envelope assembly. The tearable line, having both die-cut lines and micro-perforated lines, is durable enough to withstand bends and turns when routed through a printer, yet weak enough to allow easy separation.
The present invention also relates to an envelope, or an envelope assembly, with a removable panel that can be printed upon simultaneously while printing upon the envelope or envelope assembly. The envelope, or envelope assembly, can further comprise a tab for ease of identification and organization.
The envelope assembly includes a sheet of material having a printable surface on one side and an adhesive covered by a protective panel on another side. The sheet of material comprises an assembly shape preferably having a primary panel adjacent a secondary panel. At least one flap is preferably but not necessarily located along at least one edge of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel.
In one embodiment, the sheet of material is rectangular with micro-perforated and die-cut tearable lines located around at least a portion of a periphery of the assembly shape, thereby separating the assembly shape from a remainder portion of the material.
The protective panel is preferably transparent or translucent, and may also be printable. The adhesive coating at least partially covers one side of a removable panel located on the assembly shape and/or on the remainder portion. Alternatively, instead of adhesive coating, the removable panel can be statically adhered to the protective panel. When the removable panel is removed from a remainder of the envelope or envelope assembly, the transparent or translucent protective panel enables a user to view any contents of the envelope from outside the envelope. Furthermore, when the transparent or translucent protective panel is printable, the envelope or envelope assembly maintains as much printable surface area as an envelope or envelope assembly without a removable panel.
In another embodiment, the primary panel, the secondary panel and/or the remainder portion of the material is preferably perforated, micro-perforated, and/or die-cut to form the removable panel. The removable panel can be in a shape of a compact disc label, for example, so that graphics can be printed upon the printable surface of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel, and the removable panel can then be separated from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel and adhered to a compact disc. Alternatively, the removable panel can be in a shape of a DVD label suited to fit a non-read/write portion of the DVD. Furthermore, multiple nested ring-shaped removable panels can be located on the primary panel and/or the secondary panel, thereby providing multiple ring-shaped labels for multiple purposes.
The adhesive coating also at least partially covers one side of the at least one flap, and/or at least one edge of the primary panel and/or at least one edge of the secondary panel. The protective panel can be removed to expose the adhesive coating. In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating entirely covers one side of the sheet of material. In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating only partially covers the one side of the sheet of material. In yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating entirely covers one side of the sheet of material, and a second sheet of material is attached to the sheet of material and contains a portion of the assembly shape thereon. In a further embodiment of this invention, a laminate layer is coated with an adhesive coating on both sides and is located between the sheet of material and the protective panel.
The protective panel preferably has at least one tearable line of separation, such that a portion of the protective panel can be separated from a remaining portion, such as a border portion, of the protective panel. In one preferred embodiment, the tearable lines of separation are located along fold lines of the flaps. In another preferred embodiment, the tearable lines of separation are offset from the tearable lines of separation on the sheet of material for ease in separating the protective panel from the sheet of material in the appropriate places.
To form an envelope, the protective panel is first partially or completely separated from the adhesive to expose the adhesive on each flap, edge of the primary panel and/or edge of the secondary panel. The flaps and/or the secondary panel are then folded toward the primary panel such that surfaces with exposed adhesive are aligned to contact surfaces to which they can adhere, thereby forming an envelope.
In one preferred embodiment, at least one tab extends outward from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel. A flap can be die-cut about a portion of a periphery of the tab, such that the tab remains extending outward while the flap can be folded over and adhered to either the primary panel or the secondary panel. The tab can be printed upon directly, or alternatively, the removable panel can be of a size and shape suitable to be adhered to the tab.
The envelope assembly of the present invention can be designed and constructed in a wide range of sizes for a number of different uses. In particular, the envelope assembly is suitable for housing compact discs, mini-discs, baseball cards, photographs, and many other items. Furthermore, the envelope and/or envelope assembly can have one or more holes in the primary panel corresponding with one or more holes in the secondary panel, thereby enabling a user to store the envelope in a ring-binder, such as in a personal planner.
When the envelope assemblies are produced along a continuous web, registration lines can extend between adjacent assemblies, thereby providing for a margin of error in the process of separating adjacent assemblies. Furthermore, fold lines can be created on the envelope assemblies in order to make the assembly process of the envelope more user-friendly. Such fold lines can be created by score lines, perforations and/or micro-perforations and can be located between flaps, panels and any other component intended to be folded.
When the envelope assembly has a circular removable panel situated on either the primary panel or the secondary panel, one of the flaps can have a removable partial circle situated on the flap in such a manner that when the flap is folded, no portion of the flap blocks the view of the circular removable panel. This embodiment is desirable whether or not the flap on which the removable partial circle is located is or is not intended to be used to close the envelope. When the flap is not intended to close and seal the envelope, the flap on which the removable partial circle is located can be tucked inside the envelope, thereby providing reinforcement at the opening of the envelope and, if the protective panel is transparent and/or translucent, the flap will not impede the view of the contents of the envelope. When the flap is intended to close and seal the envelope, if the protective panel is transparent and/or translucent, once again, the flap will not impede the view of the contents of the envelope.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a surface treatment suitable for coating an unprintable surface of a label and/or envelope assembly, thereby rendering the surface printable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an envelope assembly having a printable protective panel. In this embodiment, the protective panel is also preferably transparent and/or translucent, for example for viewing the contents of the envelope through the protective panel once a removable panel is removed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tearable line for a label and/or envelope assembly that has sufficient structural strength, for example for routing through a printer, yet is configured for easy separation that forms a clean edge.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a versatile envelope assembly that can be printed upon either before or after the resulting envelope is formed, can provide a label for labeling items contained in the envelope, and can be used as a mailing envelope, a filing pocket, a ring-binder pocket, or for any other suitable use.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are intended to illustrate the present invention rather than limit the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents of the appended claims.